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SR-400-008-02 (5) . tfotJ-PO't_O! 6-F Santa Monica, ~a~Yifo~1i~9 CA:RMM:rmd902/hpca City Council Meeting 5-30-89 STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor and city Council FROM: City Attorney Ordinance Amending Ordinance Number 1481 (CCS) to Establish a Hardship Procedure and Declaring the Presence of an Emergency SUBJECT: At its meeting on May 23, 19P~, the City Council directed the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance establishing a hardship exemption from the Citywide moratorium adopted by Ordinance Number 1481 (CCS) . In response to this direction, the accompanying ordinance has been prepared and is presented to the City Council for its consideration. The accompanying ordinance establishes the following process for making hardship determinations: 1. A Notice of Intent to Seek Hardship Exemption must be filed with the City Attorney on or before June 6, 1989. The notice must be accompanied by a complete development application for the project for which the hardship exemption is being sought. 2. The development application will be reviewed by the Planning Director. If the application is incomplete in any respect, the applicant will be notified that the hardship exemption is denied. If the application is complete, the applicant will be notified that a hardship application may be - 1 - e- F-- MAY 30 1989 e . filed. The applicant will be given an application form and will be given thirty (30) days to return the application to the city. 3. Within sixty (60) days of the filing of the hardship application, the City council shall hold a hearing on the application. The City Council may grant the application only if the applicant owned in fee the property prior to May 2, 1989, at least 75% of all architectural and planning work necessary to file a development application was complete on or before May 2, 1989, that the applicant will suffer hardship substantially different in kind and degree from that suffered by persons subject to the moratorium, and that the project for which the hardship exemption is being sought was not previously denied by the city. RECOMMENDATION It is the recommended that no hardship procedure be adopted. The City has already established an objective standard to determine which proj ects can continue through the planning process and which projects are prohibited by the moratorium. This objective standard is based solely upon whether or not a complete application was filed on or before May 2, 1989. Although we have attempted to draft a narrow hardship procedure, it nevertheless requires complex decision-making by City staff and the City Council. Given the findings necessitating the moratorium, it would be more appropriate if City resources were devoted to pursuing the planning studies required by the moratorium. PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, city Attorney - 2 - . . CA:RMM:rmd901/hpca city Council Meeting 5-30-89 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER (City Council Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING ORDINANCE NUMBER 1481 (CCS) TO ESTABLISH A HARDSHIP PROCEDURE AND DECLARING THE PRESENCE OF AN EMERGENCY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Hardship Exemption. (a) Any person who obtains an exemption pursuant to this section shall be exempt from section 2 of Ordinance Number 1481 (CCS) . (b) Any person claiming a hardship exemption must substant.Late the claim in a proceeding under this section. In such a proceeding, the person seeking the hardship exemption shall have the burden of proof. (c) On or before June 6, 1989, any person claiming a hardship exemption shall file with the City Attorney a Notice of Intent to Seek HardShip Exemption ("Notice of Intent") on a form approved by the City Attorney. The Notice of Intent shall be accompanied by a complete development application for the project for which a hardship exemption is being sought. - 1 - . . (1) wi thin 10 days of the filing of the Notice of Intent and development application, the Planning Director shall determine whether or not the development application is complete. (2) If the Planning Director determines that the development application is incomplete, the city Attorney shall notify the person that such person is ineligible to file an application for a hardship exemption pursuant to this Section and return to the person the incomplete development application. (3) If the Planning Director determines that the development application is complete, the city Attorney shall notify the person that such person may. within thirty (30) days of such notification, file an Application for Hardship Exemption on the form approved by the City Attorney. If an Application for Harship Exemption is not filed within such time period, no further proceedings shall be taken pursuant to this Ordinance and the development application shall be returned to the applicant. (d) The City Council shall, within sixty (60) days from the date of filing of an Application for Hardship Exemption, hear and determine whether to grant or deny the application. An application shall be granted only if the applicant has established by clear and convincing evidence that: (1) The applicant owned in fee prior to May 2, 1989, the property for which the hardship exemption is sought. (2) Prior to May 2, 1989, at least seventy-five percent (75%) of all architectural and engineering work necessary to file a development application was completed. - 2 - . . (3) The applicant will suffer hardship substantially different in kind and degree from any hardship suffered by property owners subject to the moratorium. (4) The project, or a substantially similar project, for which the hardship exemption is sought was not previously denied by the city. (e) Upon the approval of an Application for Hardship Exemption by the City Council, the completed development application shall be filed with the Planning Department and be deemed filed as of the date of the City council approval subject to the condition that all customary application fees promptly be paid to the city. Upon the disapproval of an Application for Hardship Exemption by the City council, the completed development application shall be returned to the applicant. SECTION 2. This Ordinance, as an amendment to ordinance Number 1481 (CCS), is declared to be an urgency measure adopted pursuant to the provisions of section 9120.6 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code and Section 615 of the Santa Monica City Charter. It is necessary for preserving the public peace, health and safety, and the urgency for its adoption is set forth in the findings to Ordinance Number 1481 (CCS). SECTION 3. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, are hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to affect the pro~isions of this Ordinance. - 3 - . . SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of any competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 5. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The city Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective upon adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM: ~ Vv\.., ROBERT M. MYERS City Attorney ~ - 4 - . . MAY 3 0 1989 ~ . ~ CITY OF SANTA MONICA INTER-DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM DATE: May 26, 1989 TO: Mayor and Councilmembers FROM: City Clerk SUBJECT: Item Numbering Change Please note that staff report Item II-A (Transient Occupancy Tax) on the May 30th agenda should be II-B. jj cncl